Best *NEW* Sandwiches in Boston Area?

Howdy! I'm wondering if anybody has eaten or seen any truly *new* sandwich creations in & around Boston lately. Banh mi have gotten lots of press lately, and seems like for a while most bars offered some version of a Cuban sandwich, but are there any new and original ingredient combinations folks have tried lately? Inquiring minds want to know!

(this doesn't have to be limited to Boston - Metro West, North of Boston, etc. are all fine too. Thanks.)

They aren't normally open on Sunday's but for the last two months, once a month they open and only serve a single fried chicken sandwich. I saw tonight they're going to do one this Sunday. The chicken exterior was perfectly crisp; juicy meat, great crunchy lettuce and I loved the mustard.

Really! This is good to know as I spend most Sunday mornings in the village and have been known to whine about why Cutty's isn't open Sundays. When is the next one scheduled?

In the meantime the newish place on the Corner of Washington and Station St, long time ago Dino's pizza, is now an Italian place called Olea Cafe with terrific sandwiches, panini's and wraps. I love the Alba- as a panini or a breakfast sandwich on ciabatta - Smoked Salmon, Pesto Aioli, Cream Cheese, Capers, Red Onion. Great prices too.

Just tried to polish off a whole fried chicken sandwich- it was so good I couldn't put it down! Hubby stood in line and ran into a lot of our old neighbors - it appears the word is out about this. Thanks!

I like the chicken or beef "gyro" at Corner Cafe in Malden. It's not a traditional gyro, she serves the seasoned meat on a toasted baguette and adds homemade tzaztiki and hot sauce. All of the sandwiches come like that (plus or minus the sauces and other toppings of your choice) which gives them a unique flavor, but IMO the combo is really great with the gyro meat.

mum, i think alot/most? of the schwarma around boston is bought -in as a seasoned product and the vendor puts it on their spit. that's how Moroccan Hospitality does it. So the meat tastes the same (and is very highly salted ) at alot of places.(Not at Garlic 'n Lemons but they are not nearby.) If you ever find out if any of these 3 places, Abiata, Baba and Corner, seasons their own meat,and doesn't serve it from a steam table, would you post it plse? thx so much.

Okay, just tried Figaro's after reading mkfisher's post, and yes, it was really good. Todays special was a 'taco burrito', which was taco beef, cheese, spicy rice, sour cream, lettuce (I said no to the lettuce, hot lettuce, blech) and the kicker...Fritos!!!! The fritos were awesome in there!!! Also too, because it sucked out today weatherwise, they were doling out free soup for every sandwich. I got the italian wedding soup which, while not amazing, was perfectly servicable and a nice touch on a cold winters day!

Glad you enjoyed. It's a really solid spot with some different types of sandwiches. I walk down South St. to get there and always see the huge lines at Al's. Why those people don't walk an extra two blocks and get a far superior sandwich always confuses me.

Yeah, Al's is cheaper, but Figaro's seems more inspired. I went there again today and had 'the two timer', and it was crazy delicious. It's a $9 sandwich, but it's $9 well spent. It's a fair distance from my work too (I am on Portland street near north station), and not cheap, but it's quality has earned it a spot in my rotation

Have you ever eaten at Al's? The wait there is roughly one third of the wait at Figaro's. The place is a well oiled machine. They make a great sandwich, quick, cheap, with awesome bread. Have you had a bad sandwich there?

Agreed that Figaro's has some interesting, inventive sandwiches. Can't go wrong at either place, IMO.

Sure have, as the actual state street location is MUCH closer to me then Figaros. I am not saying Al's is bad, agreed its fast and fresh, and inexpensive, just that its very typical, no interesting combinations or specials.

I have eaten at Al's. I also made no mention of the wait at Al's, as I'm aware the lines move very quickly because of the large staff they have working back there. I personally don't care for the bread (reminds me of Dino's in the North End, which I also don't enjoy). I've found the turkey slimey, the tomatoes mealy, and some of the hot options like chicken parm and steak & cheese to be rather bland. Figaro's doesn't suffer from any of those problems in my opinion. Clearly the product at Figaro's is priced a little higher, so if you're looking to keep costs down then Al's might indeed be a better option.

That is the truth! Saw many people ditch the line while I was in it. Al's has the people and the system to crank out sandwiches at an amazing rate, and I don't hate on Al's (as I mentioned erlier, just think there menu is uninspired), while Figaro's, who has now made me 3 excellent sandwiches (I have been putting them though their paces this week) is tasty and interesting, the system at Figaro's seems very half hazzard at best. The people there are super nice, so I cut them some slack, but you do have to plan to wait (or go early) if you expect to eat there....not so at Al's

Yes, Figaro's is slower. And yes, speed and price are two excellent reasons to go to Al's. So maybe I worded my previous statement incorrectly. That being said, I do feel that many people don't know about Figaro's because of the location, and thus they settle for Al's. Again, just my opinion. Feel free to disagree. I'm also sure that there are others that prefer Al's food to Figaro's. Totally fair. To each their own. The topic of the thread was *new* sandwiches, and IMHO Figaro's does a great job with that. Maybe the masses just want the same old turkey with LTM, but from my experience once people try Figaro's, places like Al's lose their spot in the rotation. Just my purely anecdotal experience.

I recently posted about a "sake cured salmon banh mi" at Sa Pa in the old Hot Tomatoes space. Definitely a new one on me, and the quality (and quantity) of the salmon was really excellent. Other ingredients were the typical daikon, carrots, cucumber, and miso mayo, with a mushroom "pate."

I tried the Sake Cured Salmon bahn mi from Sa Pa today. It was pretty good! The quality of the salmon was excellent and I found the ingredients to be fresh. i also had no complaints about the bread. At $6+ sure it is well above the Chinatown places but I still felt like it was a reasonable price given the quantity and quality of the salmon.